Why Middle Managers Need To 'Walk The Talk,' And Why It's So Difficult To Do

Hannes Leroy is an assistant professor in the department of organization and personnel management at RSM. More about Hannes Leroy.

If you took your ideas about business from the media, it would be all too easy to assume that it’s the person at the top of the organization – the Musks, Bezos’ and Zuckerbergs of this world – that do all the heavy lifting. However, anyone with experience of the corporate world will know that the real work of making a business effective is done by those unsung heroes in the front-line, the middle managers leading their teams through the constant challenges and opportunities of day-to-day working life.

However, according to studies I’ve been involved with at RSM, for middle managers to be truly effective in their roles – and crucially to be able to inspire their team members to better and better performance - they need to display what we call ‘behavioral integrity’ to the people they lead. They need to ‘walk the talk,’ to be dependable, reliable and, perhaps most important of all, credible. But all too often, the actions of those in the boardroom or around the partnership table make that difficult, if not downright impossible, because they result in middle managers having to introduce and enforce inconsistent or contradictory policies and which undermine their all-important credibility.

To 'walk the talk' matters for employee productivity, team performance, and even company profit. Getty Royalty Free

So, what do companies need to do to unleash the full potential of their middle managers to the benefit of all concerned?

Our studies suggested four simple but effective strategies that businesses can introduce to tackle the problem:

Help – and let – middle managers communicate. Let’s face it, it’s more than a little difficult to try selling an idea that you simply don’t believe in. (In fact, if you are actually good at it perhaps you ought to give up corporate life completely and enter high stakes poker tournaments instead.) Consequently, it makes absolute sense for senior leaders to properly consult with middle management about new developments and to gain their buy-in rather than simply foisting a policy or procedure on them as if they were operating in Imperial Rome. Organizations also need to grasp that not all good middle managers are great communicators. After all, was that really why you hired them in the first place? It’s therefore essential to provide them with the tools and, if necessary, the training to explain changes in a clear and compelling way to their people.

Empower the middle management. Most of the world’s highly effective military forces work on the basis that it’s the man or woman at the cutting edge who really understands what is going on in the front line and consequently empower them to make the decisions to deal with it. Likewise, corporate leaders need to clearly define the areas where middle managers can exercise discretion in the implementation of ‘big picture’ policies. The more opportunities they are given to determine how a strategic policy should be implemented in practice, in their local area of responsibility, the greater likelihood that they will find ways to sustain their behavioral integrity.

Accept responsibility at the top. It should be blindingly obvious, but sometimes it just isn’t. The buck, to borrow a phrase from President Harry S. Truman, always stops with the person at the top. Consequently, if organizational performance is being damaged by the undermining of middle management credibility, then it’s the responsibility of senior management to fix it.

Ask what else middle management needs. Our study shows that behavioral integrity is definitely eroded by inconsistency and contradiction. But these are not the only threats that it faces. In many cases, for example, our research found that middle managers believed they needed training in such relatively straightforward, but nevertheless vital, leadership techniques as asking for and making commitments, clarifying values or making clear and quick apologies when something goes wrong. So, don’t make assumptions. Ask what your middle managers feel they need. And then provide it.

Taking these four steps can have a significant impact on organizational performance as our research strongly suggests that they can lead, if not to a virtuous circle then certainly to a ‘virtuous chain’ of improvement. If middle managers believe that the organization is genuinely supporting them, there is often a tangible effect on their behavior, which then leads on to greater commitment to the organization among their own team members. And this, in turn makes middle managers more effective in their jobs – a win-win for everyone involved.

We are one of Europe’s top 10 research-based business schools, providing ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management. We are based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. Our...